Archives May 2013

The stent, a mesh tube device designed to hold open blood vessels, has revolutionized management of coronary artery disease. The first successful stent was invented by Argentinian doctor Julio Palmaz (b. 1945). Palmaz had heard that blood vessels had a tendency to close up after balloon angioplasty, in which narrowed heart vessels are opened with a catheter. Pafmaz had the idea of putting a "scaffold" inside the vessels to prevent them from closing over. Palmaz began working on creating prototypes of an implantable stent, using simple materials such as copper wire and a soldering iron. He modeled the mesh with a structure of staggered openings he just happened to find lying on his garage floor. The design proved perfect—the structure was collapsible but remained rigid when inserted into the blood vessel. After testing his device on pigs and rabbits, Palmaz secured funding from the unlikely partnership of Phil Romano, a more...

"[The] Industrial Revolution... opened an age of... production for the needs of the masses." Ludwig von Mises, economist Spinner and carpenter James Hargreaves (1720-1778) invented this multispool spinning wheel as a way of increasing the productivity of his cotton factory in Lancashire. The "spinning jenny" had eight spindles, all of which could be operated by a single person, who rolled a beam back and forth over the yarn until it was the correct thickness. The machine increased the production of spun yarn eightfold. One story has it that a daughter of Hargreaves knocked over a spinning wheel, and he noticed that it continued to work perfectly well. This led him to consider a machine with multiple spindles, all in an upright position. The machine was so successful that yarn prices fell, upsetting the spinning community in the area. Several spinners broke into Hargreaves's house and destroyed his machines, causing him more...

The consumer is perhaps the most exploited segment of the Indian Society. Before independence the British Rulers exploited the Indian consumer for the sake of their own interests. They cheated him so that the valuable wealth may continue to flow into their country. But the scenario did not change even after India got freedom. The consumer continued to be exploited in this way or that by the traders and the manufacturers. Sometimes he was cheated in quality, sometimes in quantity. There were adulterated goods in the market, and that too at high prices. What to talk of general items, there was adulteration in essential commodities like milk, ghee, condiments and even medicines. The consumer was helpless due to lack of awareness. But now the situation has been changed. The consumer of today is fully aware of his rights. He knows that he is the backbone of the national economy and more...

Introduction. In July 2007, an unique election was held in Portugal capital Lisbon, where seven sites have been chosen as the new wonders the world in an online poll that drew more then 100 million voters. A foundation (Seven New Wonders Foundation) created by Swiss adventurous Bernard Weber has announced the 7 new sites. The Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum located at Agra in Uttar Pradesh, in India. The Mughal Emperor Shahjahan constructed it in the memory of his favourite wife Mumtaz Mahal. Construction began in 1632 and was completed in approximately 1648. In 1983 the Taj became a UNESCO World Heritage site and was cited as 'the jewel of Muslim art, in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage. The Great Wall of China. Its construction started over 2000 years ago. The longest monument in the world, it extends from the more...

Introduction. Newspapers or Press is the powerful means of communication. It can shake the very foundation of the government. A government which is not functioning well and doing injustice to them, can be set right with the help of the press. The press helps in preparing public opinion. It has become so important in our life that we can miss our meals for the whole day but not the daily newspaper. Types and mediums of Newspapers. Newspapers are of many types. There are daily, weekly, economical and employment newspapers. In most Of the leading newspapers, we find all national and international news. Newspapers can be availed in Hindi, English, Urdu and all regional languages. Press is the only medium of detailed news. International newspapers provide us all the information’s regarding any invention, advanced technology and international organization. Even the local newspapers have flooded the market. The demands of newspapers are more...

A war cannot achieve what peace can. The forces of peace can rule over ignorance and superstition, over illiteracy and immorality, over disease and physical suffering, over poverty and governmental oppression. The conquests of peace are nonviolent and bloodless. They cause no grief to humanity and do not damage life or property. War causes streams of blood and untold havoc. Only the victories of peace leave no maimed limbs or mutilated bodies, no ruined cities or scorched fields. Even a superficial glance at the course of the two world wars will tell us that their victories were gained at an incalculable cost. The triumph of the First World War proved f to be of a short duration. The victory itself sowed, in fact, the seeds of the Second World War. Who knows that the victory of World War-11 may also prove to be of an equally short duration and a more...

AIDS stands for Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome. AIDS has emerged as serious public health problem. It is caused by the Human Immuno Deficiency Virus which is known as HIV. In India, HIV was detected for the first time in 1986 and a national AIDS control programme has been in operation, since then. HIV makes the body too weak to fight infections.  We know there are white blood cells in our body which have got fighting capacity with numerous germs and thus save us from diseases. AIDS virus attacks these white blood cells of human beings and weakens the human body's immunity or self-defence mechanism. Since AIDS virus reduces the natural immunity of the human body, therefore, the patients suffering from AIDS become prone to many other infections or diseases. In fact, the patients suffering from AIDS die from other infections which are called secondary infections. Death occurs because the patient's more...

"Sputnik 1 fascinated and frightened vast numbers of people." Don Mitchell, "Sputnik: 50 Years Ago" The Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, on October 4, 1957, thus triggering the space race with the United States. Sputnik 1 was a nitrogen-filled sphere about the size of a beach ball—23 inches (58 cm) across—which orbited the Earth every ninety-six minutes. It had four long, whiplike aerials that transmitted information back to Earth. In November the same year, Sputnik 2 carried a living passenger, the dog Laika, into space. (It is thought that Laika only survived a few hours rather than the intended ten days because of stress and overheating.) By August 1960,when Sputnik 5was launched, two dogs, forty mice, two rats, and a collection of plants had been sent into orbit. The goal was the manned exploration of space. The United States were taken horribly by surprise by the more...

Most Indians live in villages. 'Village folks are very fond of fair. These fairs reflect the true character of our culture and  tradition. Every year a big fair is held in our village on the Baisakhi Day. It is an important day for villagers. This year I went to see it with My friends. We saw a large crowd in the fair. All roads led to the site of the fair. Villagers in their colourful dresses looked attractive. A temporary bazaar was set up in the fair. Sweets, fruits and toys were displayed in abundance in shops. There were a large number of hawkers also. Cold drinks, ice-cream, kulfi, faluda and fancy articles were in great demand. Men, women and children were making purchases. Girls were buying bangles while children were after ballons. All were making merry. Some people were enjoying sports and games while others were singing and dancing. more...

The increase of population in India is at an alarming stage. Now we are the second largest populated country in the  world, China being the first. So the population of India has crossed the limit of one Arab. So, the need of family planning is the need of the hour. England was the first country in the world to start family planning centres. America and other European countries also launched a campaign in favour of family planning. They gave family planning as much publicity as could be possible. After this it has spread throughout the world. In India there are many reasons for family planning. The most important being the economic aspect. If we are having children more than our capacity to nourish them and to educate them well, then the living standard cannot be raised which is the main objective of our economic planning. Secondly, it is also a more...